Hyundai and Kia car theft fallout by the numbers

Hyundai and Kia car theft fallout by the numbers

Hyundai and Kia are under pressure from lawsuits and regulators after a wave of car thefts last year. The wave was prompted by TikTok video that showed how to hot-wire Hyundai and Kia vehicles that lack an anti-theft device.

Here’s the fallout by the numbers:

  • 9 million: Hyundai and Kia vehicles on the road without immobilizers
  • 9: Cities suing the automakers
  • 18: State attorneys general who have petitioned NHTSA to issue a recall of vehicles without immobilizers
  • 8: Fatalities related to stolen Hyundai and Kias without immobilizers, according to NHTSA
  • 68: Insurance companies suing Hyundai and Kia over the vehicles
  • $200 million: Settlement amount Hyundai and Kia agreed this month to pay to consumers in a class-action lawsuit over the lack of immobilizers
  • $600 million: How much attorneys estimate the insurance industry will end up paying out to affected owners
  • $5 billion: How much attorneys estimate a nationwide recall of the Hyundai and Kia vehicles would cost
  • 96: Percentage of vehicles from other manufacturers that included immobilizers as standard equipment by 2015
  • 26: Percentage of Hyundai and Kia models that included immobilizers as standard equipment by 2015
  • 114: The Federal Motor Vehicle safety standard number for NHTSA’s rule on “Theft Protection and Rollaway Prevention,” requiring automakers to install an ignition system on each vehicle that prevents it from starting or being steerable without the presence of the key.


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